FY 2023 Budget Hearings and Work Sessions Set, Survey Available
City Manager Rob DiSpirito is scheduled to present his proposed Fiscal Year 2023 operating budget and Capital Improvements Program on Monday, Feb. 28, followed by Mayor and Council public hearings and work sessions in March and April.
For information about how to testify at the hearings, find agendas, posted the week before each meeting, at www.rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter.
Public participation in the budget process is a high priority for the Mayor and Council and city staff. A budget survey, in English and Spanish, at www.rockvillemd.gov/budget allows community members to identify their top budget priorities, initiatives for reducing the negative impacts of COVID-19 and options for maintaining a balanced budget. The public response to the survey will provide valuable input to the Mayor and Council for their FY23 budget discussions.
On Jan. 10, the Mayor and Council directed staff to apply $1.1 million of the city’s $9.6 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to sewer and electric infrastructure for the King Farm Farmstead, $533,345 for the recycling transfer station at the city’s Gude Drive Maintenance Facility, and $300,000 for cybersecurity for the city’s water treatment plant. They are scheduled to hold a work session Monday, March 21 about how to apply the remaining $4.1 million in ARPA funding.
ARPA’s goal is to aid state and local governments in recovering from the budgetary, economic, and financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In October, the Mayor and Council directed staff to apply nearly $3.9 million in ARPA funding toward water infrastructure improvements and assisting city water and sewer customers in paying past-due utility bills incurred during the pandemic. New water and sewer rates and a new rate structure adopted by the Mayor and Council in November, took effect on Jan. 1.
The $141.2 million budget for Fiscal Year 2022, which ends June 30, keeps the city’s real property tax rate of $0.292 per $100 of assessed valuation the same. All residential and commercial property owners pay this tax.
For more information, including details of the new water and sewer rates, visit www.rockvillemd.gov/budget or call the Finance Department at 240-314-8400.
The Mayor and Council’s upcoming budget process for FY 2023 includes:
- Monday, Feb. 28: A presentation of the city manager’s proposed FY 2023 operating budget and Capital Improvements Program.
- Monday, March 7: Public hearing.
- Monday, March 21: FY23 budget public hearing, and work sessions on the budget and the use of ARPA funds.
- Monday, April 4: Public hearing.
- Friday, April 15: Close of budget public record.
- Monday, April 18: Work session.
- Monday, April 25: Final direction on FY23 budget.
- Monday, May 9: Adoption of the FY23 operating budget and Capital Improvements Program.